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Diary of a Country Priest

Diary of a Country Priest

Drama · 1951

An inexperienced, sickly priest shows up in the rural French community of Ambricourt, where he joins the community's clergy. But the locals don't take kindly to the priest, and his ascetic ways and unsociable demeanor make him an outcast. During Bible studies at the nearby girls school, he is continually mocked by his students. Then his attempt to intervene in a family feud backfires into a scandal. His failures, compounded with his declining health, begin to erode his faith.

Movie details

Diary of a Country Priest

“A priest of humble origin, lost in the maze of worldiness”

1951 Drama 1h 55m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

7.5 / 10

Community rating

An inexperienced, sickly priest shows up in the rural French community of Ambricourt, where he joins the community's clergy. But the locals don't take kindly to the priest, and his ascetic ways and unsociable demeanor make him an outcast. During Bible studies at the nearby girls school, he is continually mocked by his students. Then his attempt to intervene in a family feud backfires into a scandal. His failures, compounded with his declining health, begin to erode his faith.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Diary of a Country Priest?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Robert Bresson

Written by

Robert Bresson

Claude Laydu

Claude Laydu

Curé d'Ambricourt

Jean Riveyre

Jean Riveyre

Le Comte

Adrien Borel

Adrien Borel

Priest of Torcy

Rachel Bérendt

Rachel Bérendt

La Comtesse

Nicole Maurey

Nicole Maurey

Miss Louise

Nicole Ladmiral

Nicole Ladmiral

Chantal

Martine Lemaire

Martine Lemaire

Séraphita Dumontel

Court is in session

Put Diary of a Country Priest on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Ambition earns the room.”

The film reaches for consequence and scale, accepting the risk of seriousness instead of shrinking from it.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Importance has entered the chat.”

The production keeps announcing its significance, as though awards-season posture were proof of insight.